Dog and Butterfly
by Drummerchick7
Summary: Aethyta and Benezia were together for a hundred years, eventually growing apart. But how did they meet? Why did they decide to have a pureblood daughter? What was a big enough wedge between them to drive Aethyta away from Liara permanently? Smut warning, as well as feels. This is, by it's very nature, NOT a happy ending. Told largely through flashbacks. ON HIATUS (latest chapter).
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Long one, sorry folks. But I thought you might like a little explanation, and I need to give credit where it's due. Feel free to skip down to the actual start of the chapter._

_This project started last December, when WordKrush and I ended up beginning a rapport. I praised her ability to write amazing plot, she praised my awesome smut, and we joked about working on a collaboration of plot and smut. Then I asked her for a smut request while I worked through some brief writer's block on _Cowboys, Horses, and Girls, _and she requested Benezia and Aethyta. What I ended up writing (the smut section of this chapter) had so much potential for something better than just a sexy one-shot, that we decided to go for it, and drafted out an entire piece._

_Then I started school, and I let it languish on my hard drive. Then WordKrush started _Leviathan: Oracle_ (which you should go check out. Go, I can wait) and her life got super busy, and I started my Dragon Age fic, _Forbidden Magic_, all while this poor thing gathered dust. Then Diablo Kades encouraged me to post _From The Other Side Of Things_, and, well, I got bit by the bug, telling me to finish my old projects. So. Here I am, beginning posting this._

_Posts won't be quick, as I'm still working on the last half of this, and I want it to be as close as I can get it as it has the potential to be, but I feel pretty secure in posting the first couple of chapters in the coming weeks. The draft of this whole thing is collaboratively written with WordKrush, the first chapter so amazing **because** of her. After that, it's all me, with Diablo Kades beta-ing for me as usual. But I cannot emphasize enough how much better this project is because of WordKrush's finessing of the drafting process. And she even titled it, after a Heart album, which has hard rock on one side and ballads on the other - sound like an asari couple we know?_

_Lastly, I have not forgotten _Forbidden Magic_. I actually have the next chapter ready to go, just needs to be beta'd. This will be written in conjunction with that one. :)_

_So. Without further ado..._

* * *

Chapter 1

The house was quiet. The birds outside chirped with the sunrise. Steam rolled off the mug of tea, held in two slim blue hands. The smells of the early morning came to the owner of those hands, the glass of the windows having been removed centuries before in favor of kinetic barriers. The smell of the tea mingled with the fresh scents of the earth and flowers outside, making the woman smile as she leaned against the windowsill.

Her reverie was broken by a grumble from the hallway. Her smile widened, and she turned, leaning back against the sill as she took a first, tentative sip of her tea. She breathed it in as she sipped, taking one last quiet moment for herself before the day began in earnest. Not that she minded the day beginning. It just usually started with a storm cloud entering the living space in rumpled clothing.

"Really, Aethyta, putting clothing on is _not_ that awful." More grumbling answered her, making her smile even more widely as she took another sip of her tea. As she put the mug down, the source of the grumbling stomped into the room.

Aethyta wore an extremely rumpled pair of loose trousers and a scowl, but nothing else, her large, heavy breasts seeming to sag with her mood. "You're lucky I put _this_ much on, Nezzy," she grumped, walking directly up to her and sinking her forehead onto her shoulder. "Why are we up this early again?"

"_I_ didn't make you get up so early. _You_ were the one who insisted upon being there with me." She cupped Aethyta's cheek for a moment, adding, "For which I am eternally grateful." She removed her hand from Aethyta's cheek and reached around her bondmate with both hands, softly scratching her nails from her shoulders to the small of her back. Aethyta let out a pleased sound, relaxing into the embrace. They stood holding each other for several minutes before Aethyta finally pulled back.

"Well," she gruffed, kissing Benezia on the cheek and walking to the kitchen. "If I'm going to be a father, I'd like to do it right." The sound of Aethyta's rummaging in the cupboards accompanied the gravelly tone of her voice. "I'm a mother – I know what it's like. But _fuck_, woman. You couldn't do this a little later in the day?"

Benezia smiled again, picking her tea back up and finishing it, not saying anything. She knew her bondmate well enough to know that she was simply _not_ a morning person, possibly from so many years spent tending bar. And perhaps from her youth spent stripping.

Her smile faltered a little as she thought of the events that had led Aethyta from her life as a dancer to her life as a huntress. Aethyta's parents had done each other in, leaving the poor, lost woman utterly alone in the galaxy. That tragedy, coupled with her krogan-inherited temper, had landed her training as a huntress for the temple as she looked for answers – after sleeping her way through her fellow dancers, that is.

She had met Aethyta in this role. Her heart fluttered to think of the meeting, so passionate, so forbidden. As they got ready to go, to receive their christening in the temple for the child she now carried, she couldn't help but get slightly caught up in the memories; mostly pleasant, slightly bittersweet...

* * *

Benezia was drunk. That was the only way she could explain why she was quietly climbing the stairs to her room, another asari - with wandering hands - in tow. The woman had been the only entertaining part of an otherwise tedious evening, which was perhaps why she was leading her to bed. Or perhaps it was her luscious curves, showed off by a dress that no respectable young priestess-initiate like herself would wear. The woman was not another priestess, and it was doubtful she was a diplomat. She was too rough around the edges, too loud and more than a bit coarse. What she lacked in social grace, however, she more than made up for with a cocky self-assuredness that had drawn more than a few lingering gazes during the course of the evening. Though petite by asari standards, the size and force of her personality made her seem larger than life, and Benezia had found herself helplessly pulled in by her charisma.

Or maybe it was the dress. Goddess. Benezia couldn't quite recall if she'd learned why the other asari was at the function at all. She'd been far too busy being charmed by her gruff voice, her scandalous dress, and her intoxicating aroma as she leaned in to make some crude joke about the older asari matrons who were walking by.

At one point, as she was pulling away, Benezia had taken a risk, turning to face Aethyta and gently brushing her lips against the other woman's cheek. It was an innocent enough gesture, but Benezia hoped Aethyta would take it for how it was meant – as a question, a subtle request for more.

Benezia smirked at the memory. Aethyta had leaned in, placing her mouth so tantalizingly close that Benezia could feel her lips curve in a knowing grin against her neck. "Well damn, girl, I was beginning to think you weren't interested." The gruff whisper and the warm flush of Aethyta's breath against her skin had sent shivers travelling up Benezia's spine.

She had threaded her arm through Aethyta's and led her to a balcony outside, away from prying eyes, and pressed their bodies together. Aethyta had moaned as she wrapped her arms around Benezia's waist, pulling her even closer. That first kiss had been delicious. Their tongues had danced around each other, both their lips full and soft, alcohol on both their breaths. It was not the "dueling tongues" so often described in erotic literature – not that Benezia ever read that kind of thing, of course – but rather a firm exploration of each other's mouths.

Benezia had pulled away abruptly and turned, leading Aethyta away from the insufferable event, full of her sisters from the temple and academics from the University of Serrice nearby. Compared to the formal crowd barely visible through the marbled glass of the balcony window, Aethyta was a breath of fresh air. She wasn't afraid to say what she thought, and her ideas and attitude were vastly different from any asari maiden Benezia had ever met (Asari maidens didn't generally have a lot of opinions, being so busy trying to dance or kill things in merc bands, so she supposed it wasn't _that_ hard to do). Aethyta was a heady blend of fascinating and sexy and Benezia wanted more. So she had made the bold move that would allow her to take it, leading her off to her bed.

Now, ten minutes later, they had circled the estate, somehow managed to climb the stairs, and stumbled through the arched hallway to her room. It had taken longer than it should have, as Aethyta proved that she could not keep her hands to herself. She would stop Benezia's progress every few feet to turn her around and kiss her, their lips erupting in fire whenever they met. When she did not halt their progress, she slowed it down by running her hands over Benezia's curves, trying to define them within the flowing dress that hung from Benezia's shoulders.

When they finally made it through the doorway, Aethyta pushed the door closed with her foot, scrabbling for the lock with one hand. As the lock slid home with an audible click, the game was on. Aethyta grabbed the fabric of Benezia's dress, pulling her in by her hips. Benezia let out a slight yelp, most of it swallowed by Aethyta's mouth as their lips crushed together. Benezia felt hands move up her sides, tickling her ribs through the fabric of her dress before finding the fastenings at the back. She could _feel_ the other woman smiling into their kiss in her triumph at this discovery. Benezia, determined not to be outdone, found the exposed skin of Aethyta's hips, back, and shoulders, caressing every spot of skin she could find, trying to find Aethyta's weaknesses so she could exploit them. She'd never been a demanding lover, requiring only a meld and whatever her partner needed in order to enjoy herself, but something about this woman awoke something primal within her. She _needed_ this woman inside her, both physically and mentally.

Aethyta smoothly slid Benezia's zipper down, peeling the dress off her torso as their tongues continued their dance. Neither vied for domination of the other's mouth, no excessive force was used; they simply could not taste enough of each other. As the dress came away from Benezia's skin, however, Aethyta released her mouth to press the soft fullness of her lips against Benezia's cheek and trail hot kisses down her throat, across her collar bone, and down onto her chest.

"Now _these_ I have been dying to get my hands on," growled the gruff woman, her dark blue skin almost lost in the dark room. She took both of Benezia's large breasts in hand, letting the weight of each rest against her palms.

Benezia found it was awe-inspiring to be with someone who knew her body so well without needing to actually be familiar with _her_; Aethyta knew what felt good because, as another asari, it felt good for her, too.

Aethyta's fingers kneaded the flesh of both breasts a moment, then reigned in the pressure, delicately stroking with her right hand while her left hand snaked around to settle in the small of Benezia's back, then down to cup her ass under her dress, squeezing and kneading it almost roughly. Benezia tried to complain, tried to huff and stamp her foot and demand more contact than the one breast and her backside, but Aethyta silenced her protests before they began with a hungry kiss. The contrast of the feather-light touches of her fingers, stroking her breast but avoiding her rapidly hardening nipple, and the forcefulness of the kiss and the hand kneading her ass sent flutters directly from the three points of contact into Benezia's core. She was already getting very wet; she could feel it, pooling between her legs, threatening to spill onto her underclothes.

Aethyta's attention shifted, now focused on slithering her left hand back so she could tease both breasts, trailing kisses across Benezia's collarbone and back up onto her throat, sometimes nipping, sometimes sucking. Every time Benezia let out a noise, be it whimper or moan, Aethyta voiced her pleasure, sometimes growling, sometimes almost purring, always with a cocky smile that Benezia could feel against her skin.

Benezia was frustrated that her dress was still hanging from her hips. She removed her hands from Aethyta's exposed skin, her lips now caught, and reached for her own dress, wanting the offending garment removed fully. She had enough presence of mind to not shred it off with her biotics. Under normal circumstances, she liked the dress; these were not normal circumstances, however. Instead, she tugged at it, trying desperately to wiggle her hips out even as she arched her back to try to get firmer contact on her aching breasts.

Aethyta tsked as she moved her kisses from the hollow of Benezia's throat up onto her jawline. "Some priestess. Isn't patience one of Athame's virtues?"

Benezia lifted her chin and spoke in her most imperious voice. "I have waited long enough; now kindly finish what you started." She tried very hard not to sound like a child, hoping she sounded every bit as commanding and powerful as she didn't feel.

"Oh, I always finish what I start," Aethyta growled. Removing her hands from Benezia's aching breasts and stepping back so that no part of their skin was touching, she clutched Benezia's dress in both hands. Sliding her fingertips under the waistband of her undergarments, she yanked down roughly and both garments fell free to pool around her feet.

Now naked, Benezia's chest heaved, her hands almost, but not quite, shaking at her sides. She had been undressed before, but no lover had ever made her feel so laid bare and vulnerable. She was not accustomed to losing control, to having her power so thoroughly and easily stripped away. Under Aethyta's hungry gaze, she felt all her refinement slip away.

Aethyta's manner, the growl to her voice, the way she handled Benezia so surely and roughly, robbed the young priestess-to-be of her last shred of poise. With her clothes went her need to command Aethyta, to demand what she wanted from her. Instead, she _needed_ the woman to handle her so, to take what she wanted from her, to chip away at the haughty exterior Benezia had cultivated for her duties as a T'Soni and a priestess of Athame. She longed to pull the woman to her, feel her skin against her own, caress the erogenous zone she knew she'd find buried in the other asari's crest. Goddess, she was ready to beg, but she was so powerless, so helplessly enthralled, all she could do was stand there and let Aethyta take in the sight of her. The simple submission of that act alone was enough to coat her inner thighs with wetness. Just when she thought she could stand the separation no longer, the other asari pounced.

Benezia found herself forced back onto the bed, Aethyta's warm body hovering above her. In one swift move the dark-skinned woman's dress was gone, and then a warm, naked body pressed hers into the bed. Desperate to touch, she raked her nails down every part of Aethyta that she could reach, her own skin on fire where they touched. Aethyta moaned, Benezia moaned, and then two fingers found their way inside of Benezia, so very easily, as Aethyta's mouth finally, _finally_ closed around an achingly stiff nipple. Benezia's back arched as she gasped with pleasure, her nails digging into Aethyta's shoulders.

Her pace was slow, long, pulling all the way out before pushing all the way in. She explored Benezia with her fingers, finding all the right buttons to push, her mouth kissing and sucking on every inch of skin she could reach.

After what felt like an eternity, Aethyta pulled back, still buried deep inside of Benezia, who was becoming delirious with the need to Join, but unwilling to take charge of the situation. "You like losing control like this, don't you? When was the last time you removed that stick from your ass long enough to _fucking_ enjoy yourself?"

"I… I…" Benezia couldn't make a reply, too focused on Aethyta's fingers inside of her.

Aethyta shifted them, pushing forward and up, making Benezia practically squeal. "I bet no one else has ever gotten you to make that noise before. I don't peg you for someone who let's your partner take control like this. You're not generally this type of woman." Her voice was that signature gruff, gravelly voice that just _dripped_ sex.

Aethyta's hand stilled. Benezia's eyes shot open, seeking the answer to why the other woman would think of stopping _now_. She found Aethyta's smirk, and understood. Aethyta's questions weren't actually rhetorical.

The woman wanted an answer.

"Yes," she said, after searching Aethyta's eyes for another moment. She squirmed, feeling the other woman inside of her. "I have never… _needed_ someone like this." She wasn't sure how to articulate what she meant, that she needed the other asari to strip away the more than a century's worth of manners, poise, politeness. She needed her control to be taken away, to lose herself in the other asari. Instead of trying to articulate it, she reached out her hand to cup Aethyta's cheek, letting her eyes swirl black as she initiated a very shallow meld. It was only deep enough to communicate her feelings, the need, the lust, the ache between her legs and in her mind for Aethyta to be as deeply buried as possible, in both places.

Aethyta responded by immediately thrusting forward, both with her hand and her mind, deepening their meld to a full Joining, enveloping Benezia's mind in her own even as Benezia accepted Aethyta inside of her core.

Benezia gasped, the pleasure so exquisite it was almost unbearable. She'd never been with someone whose mental presence was so commanding, so powerful. She'd never been with someone who had such control over where they went within her mind. She didn't have to be so careful about what was shown, about what was laid bare; Aethyta knew how not to look where she wasn't explicitly invited. And yet it was the only time so far in her life that she _wanted_ the other to see everything, _wanted_ to be completely vulnerable, have that commanding presence fill her up, hold her, make her sob in ecstasy. It was like a drug.

Aethyta could see and feel all of it. The thoughts of vulnerability and submission, the willingness of her partner, the arousal of them both, caused Aethyta to deepen the meld even further, into that dangerous place where a child could be conceived if they were not careful. All sense of "I" disappeared, replaced by need and shared pleasure. They writhed together on the bed, gasping, cursing, and clawing at each other, their minds tangled until there was only raw pleasure, dizzying in its scope. Never before had either of them had such a climax as this, prodding each other physically, enveloped in each other mentally, all emotions, all memories, all experiences laid bare for the other to revel in.

As they came back, oh so slowly, to themselves, finally able to separate "you" from "me," they both experienced a twinge of regret, neither able to identify who it originated with. Benezia lay on her back, legs spread, Aethyta's hips nestled between them. Aethyta's fingers were still buried inside her as far as they would go, thumb resting gently on her clitoris. They lay together cheek to cheek, panting to the same inaudible beat. Their meld was still shallow, neither willing to completely separate from the other. Benezia pushed slightly on Aethyta's shoulders, urging her face up. Black, shining eyes met, and Benezia stroked Aethyta's cheek lovingly, smiling into her beautiful face. She wanted to share everything she was with this stunning creature. She communicated without words, showing her a childhood of rules and restrictions, an absent father and a distant mother who was difficult to please.

In turn, she was shown Aethyta's explosive parents, her father and mother creating and rearing her in passion, then killing each other in rage. Tears were shared, caresses exchanged, loving kisses and tender strokes. Before long, they were making love, fondness and affection flaring to life as their meld deepened once more. Their pace was less fevered, less about the destination and more about the journey, though no less intense, and ended with them collapsing in each other's arms after they both shuddered and cried out their release.

Hours later, as Aethyta lay curled around her and sleeping softly, Benezia rolled over in her arms and quietly studied her face, desperately trying to quell the panic flaring in her chest. What in the world was she going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Had to repost this like right away. I'm having trouble getting my formatting from Word to transfer to here correctly, and it's important y'all understand what's a flashback and what isn't._

* * *

Chapter 2

Benezia's brows furrowed slightly while she listened to the priestess, causing the unique markings to gather together. Aethyta had always found them fascinating. All of her bondmate was fascinating, really. She loved her light blue skin, so different from her own dark indigo. Nezzy had chosen, all this time, to remain without any tattoos, much like Aethyta had, making her face that much more interesting in its simple beauty. Even her scales were a point of interest, light upon already pale skin, barely detectable when she ran her fingers over the woman's jaw, over her crests, yet standing out so starkly visually.

She was glad Nezzy was carrying the baby. Maybe she'd get her mother's brow markings.

"And by the Goddess Athame, may your Womb be blessed, your Carrying be healthy, and your Birth be smooth."

The priestess continued on, but Aethyta wasn't listening. She was staring at her bondmate as she held her, wondering again how she had gotten so damn lucky to get to know this creature well enough that she actually found parts of her annoying (what marriage didn't, right?). Their first meeting, at barely 150 years in age, had been passion incarnate, followed by the bitter pill of the real world. In her fear, as her mask of propriety settled back in, Benezia had brushed Aethyta off, insulting her place within the temple as a huntress and her lower class parentage by the end. Aethyta had left dejected. Dejected, and pissed off.

She'd walked around with a storm cloud over her head for three days before shaking it off, hooking up with one of her sisters-in-arms. She'd fucked away her woes in a cave on the temple grounds while the two huntresses were supposed to be sleeping in their bunks. She'd felt better after that. She hadn't run into Benezia for decades, transferring to another temple and almost succeeding in forgetting about her. She never did forget that night and its following morning, though…

* * *

_Aethyta awoke slowly. She had not been very drunk the night before, which was unlike her, and she was now having the entirely unique experience (for her) of waking up next to someone **without** her head pounding._

_She ran a hand along the bare arm that encircled her waist, studied the peaceful face that rested mere inches from her own. She could feel the warm breaths as they were exhaled, could smell the touch of morning breath mixed with the heady scent that was **Benezia**, and it brought a smile to her face._

_She'd seen so much of this woman the night before. She was Benezia T'Soni, priestess of Athame, youngest member of one of the oldest houses on Thessia, only child – a rare thing – of a woman who had finally decided to reproduce as she was upon her Matriarch years. And as Aethyta had watched Benezia's childhood unfold, experienced her first years in the temple, her first lovers come and go, Aethyta had fallen completely in love. As she was entrusted with such knowledge, granting her so much power over someone usually so unwilling to relinquish that power, she'd made a solemn pact with herself to never betray it. She would never, ever hurt this powerful woman who had made herself so very **vulnerable** in Aethyta's embrace._

_Aethyta cupped Benezia's cheek and kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent. The woman stirred in her arms, her cheek shifting on Aethyta's arm, having used it as a pillow all night. When her eyes opened, Aethyta smiled at her, loving how expressive the markings over her brows made her face. But the look she received in response troubled her. It was a look of carefully schooled shock, of panic, like the look she received when she – seemingly small, lacking physical power – cornered an opponent._

_"Good morning." Aethyta searched those eyes, liking what she saw less and less. The look was quickly turning from panic to ice._

_Benezia pulled her eyes away and rolled onto her back. Just before she did, Aethyta watched as an unreadable mask descended over Benezia's face, as if steeling her resolve._

_"Good morning." Benezia's tone was curt, cool, like she was speaking to a new acquaintance at a meeting. Like she was speaking to a stranger. Aethyta couldn't figure out why, though. She'd seen into the woman's mind the night before, felt what she felt, and shared herself in return. They were not strangers, not anymore. What had changed so drastically while they slept as to make Benezia shut her out?_

_"I hope no one missed you after we left," Aethyta ventured, also sitting, letting the sheet pool around her hips. Her people were not a self-conscious people, she least of all, not after a salarian-lifetime spent shaking her ass in a club to pay the bills. It had been fun, sure, but after her parents ended each other over centuries-old conflicts, the fun had soured. She sought something more meaningful, and had found herself on the steps of the temple. Not being one for a lifetime of peaceful worship, she had sought training with the temple's huntresses. The temple warriors were almost as revered as the priesthood, hence her inclusion at the event the previous evening. She was a novice, but included nonetheless._

_Benezia continued to avert her gaze, getting up from the bed, also lacking any self-consciousness in her nudity as she walked to the adjoining washroom. Aethyta couldn't take her eyes off the swaying hips, the two round globes, the twin dimples on either side of the small of her back. **How did I manage to get her to bed me?**_

_"It was late. We should be fine. You should leave now, however. The house staff will be waking soon."_

_"So we're sneaking around, then?"_

_Benezia finally looked at her, poking her head around the entrance to the small washroom. "Surely you weren't expecting me to treat you to breakfast? You can show yourself out." Her tone was cold, her expression making it clear that Aethyta was not a conquest that she would be bragging about._

_Aethyta's anger flared. Her temper was always close to the surface, though training with the temple, directing her hot-headedness to more useful outlets – like the best way to snap a person's neck with her biotics (or her bare hands) – had made her better able to school it._

_"Hold on right there, Princess. Last night was amazing. I don't need you to tell me that to know how you felt about it. I understand I'm not exactly who a T'Soni is expected to sleep with-"_

_"You are right, you are not. Now, please leave." Benezia now stood in the threshold completely, body on display, face showing her disdain._

_Aethyta stood, as well, doing her best to tamp down on her temper once more. "So you don't deny that the reason for treating me like a damn whore is because I'm another asari?"_

_"Asari, huntress, dancer – there are many reason why taking you to my bed was a mistake. It was not my intent to have you believe that this could lead anywhere but here."_

_Aethyta stalked around the bed, feeling a little ridiculous getting this pissed while this naked, the smell of their lovemaking still clinging to the air, her dress somewhere on the floor. "It doesn't have to be like this. You're a remarkable woman," she said, her voice softening. "You could go against expectations. What's gonna happen, huh? Not like you're in a krogan clan. No one's gonna bloodrage on you."_

_"No," replied Benezia, eyes narrowing. "No, that would be something that would come from your people, wouldn't it?" And she turned, leaving the room, ending the conversation._

_"Fuck," Aethyta breathed. She found her dress, feeling ridiculous in the scandalous thing in the morning light, and let herself out of the room. It took her several moments to find the exit, having not paid much attention the night before. She returned to the temple shamed, wanting nothing more than to pound her biotically wreathed fist up someone's ass._

* * *

"I will leave you two to clean up here. Congratulations on the life you are bringing to this world." The Matriarch priestess's words brought Aethyta blinking out of her memories. The woman smiled warmly, knowingly, placing a hand on each of their cheeks in turn before leaving the chamber. Aethyta looked back to her bondmate, naked in the pool of seawater.

"I don't see why they still have us do this naked."

Benezia smirked, a single brow rising. "And _I_ never thought you would complain about my nudity, especially in such close proximity to _yours_." She pointedly raked her eyes down Aethyta's naked body.

Aethyta snorted. "Who said I was complaining?" She lurched forward, the water splashing as she snagged Benezia around the waist and pulled her in for a wet, dramatically loud kiss. Benezia yelped in surprise, though melted into the second, less joking and more passionate kiss that followed. Aethyta would need to revel in this while it lasted, while Benezia still wasn't showing. After that, she'd never have a moment alone with her, not for at _least_ the next twenty years. _Maybe I need to put the locks back on the doors…_

She pulled back and stood up, pulling Benezia along with her. They shared a moment in their embrace, Aethyta trying and failing to capture some deep spiritual significance in the ancient rite they'd just participated in. Instead, she just tried to capture meaning from the embrace they shared, their family of three already formed in the circle of those arms. _That_, she could feel. This baby was going to be something special, she had no doubt.

* * *

"You've never been able to keep your hands to yourself."

Aethyta smirked. "You know it. Now, are you gonna help me, or am I gonna have to do all the work myself?"

Benezia rolled her eyes, but obliged, reaching behind herself to undo her dress. "So what prompted this? The naked sea bath at the temple? Or was it being in the temple itself that made you feel like pouncing?" The dress was up over her head in a flash, Aethyta's hands settling on her favorite pair of breasts as Benezia's rested lightly on Aethyta's shoulders.

"I need a reason to make love to my bondmate?" Benezia only raised an eyebrow, a look that never failed to make Aethyta's blood pound. "Fine," she growled, moving her hands along Nezzy's sides, slipping them around her waist and pulling the two of them close. "First it was just being in the temple that got me thinking of this. Then it was you naked. Then it was us naked together, in the temple. Can you blame me?"

Benezia's laugh filled the room. She continued to chuckle as Aethyta dipped her lips to meet her throat, her fingers pressing into the small of her back. It only took another few moments for it to turn into a breathy moan, however, Aethyta's fingernails just digging in to her skin as she traced them up and down her back.

"So I take it you're interested, then." Aethyta's voice, normally low and gruff, was now lower and gruffer, somewhere between a growl and a purr.

Benezia's hands slid from Aethyta's shoulders to her hips, her eyes already going black as she sought entrance to Aethyta's mind. Aethyta opened up immediately, losing herself in their combined consciousness.

Sometimes, when they Joined, the acts of lovemaking were starkly detailed; every act, every motion, coming into focus like an infinite stream of still images. Other times, they postponed the Joining purposely, choosing to focus on the many inventive things they could do to each other, exploring kinks and curiosities; the Joining was short and fast during these times, usually followed by a tender session of lovemaking to fully satiate their Bonding needs. Yet other times, their lovemaking flowed by like water, their combined awareness more concerned with the swirling thoughts and memories, release being sought and reached without a lot of intention, their bodies carrying them there through a century of practice.

This time was like that. Aethyta swam in a sea that was the two of them, without time, until the rush of the water matched the pounding of her blood and she cried her release in tandem with Benezia. As her awareness returned to her, she found that they were naked, tangled in each other's limbs, pushed against the door into the house, where this whole thing had started. She leaned against it, Benezia sagging in her arms, their breathing evening out, the sweat on their skin drying in the still-cool morning air.

She smiled as she looked down at her bondmate. She smelled so good, and she was always so warm. Right now it pulsed off of her, radiating outward and making Aethyta almost too hot, confined between the door and Benezia. She didn't mind, though, opting to hold her for several more moments, enjoying the feeling of her breathing, of her skin pressed against hers. But then, as with all things, it ended, and they straightened, getting dressed while speaking about the mundane things of daily life. It was better to attend the meeting they were headed to like this, with the glow from their union still shining brightly from both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aethyta stopped by the restaurant she owned, making sure everything was in order. It had started out as a dive bar, which she had tended for the owner. Nezzy had found her here, and not long after they had finally crossed wrists, after centuries of letting life get in their way. With Benezia's help, she had purchased the place, turning it into a successful, higher-class restaurant, in addition to a full-service bar. She'd learned a lot from Nezzy, investing her money being just one of them. So she stopped by the restaurant everyday, checking in on things, seeing if her managers needed anything from her, and making sure everything was in tip-top shape.

Sitting in her office and going over the books, she stopped momentarily to look at a picture. It was one of many she had framed and sitting around various places where she spent time. She had plenty in her house, and plenty in this room. This one had to be here, though, because she didn't really want Nezzy seeing it. It was a picture of her bondmate, when she was very young, only maybe two hundred years old. Aethyta had snapped the holo with her omnitool in secret, as the naked asari had slumbered.

It had been a bittersweet reunion. Aethyta had still been with the temple, now training huntresses. She was very successful at it, training them one at a time in the apprentice tradition. She had even refrained from sleeping with any of her apprentices, which had been an exercise in self-restraint for her, since they were always young, hot, and eager-to-please. More than one had attempted to throw herself at the older asari, leaving Aethyta in the unfamiliar position of pushing a willing woman _away_. She had been celibate for years by that point, knowing that nameless encounters were no longer to her taste. Still, it occasionally tested her resolve.

But then she had gone to that function honoring new priestesses in Armali, and there was Benezia.

* * *

_Aethyta seethed. She didn't listen to any of the ceremony, simply standing at attention as best she could and staring at the most disappointing sexual encounter she'd ever had. She knew Benezia had noticed her, as she had literally flinched when she had passed the other asari in procession to the front of the temple. She had then stood there, looking everywhere but at Aethyta while the huntress had attempted to bore a hole through the priestess's face with the intensity of her glare alone._

_When the new priestesses were actually presented, they walked up as a group to have a blessing before the statue of Athame. The congregation spoke their part of the ceremony aloud, and then the high priestess did her part, and then they were officially priestesses of Athame. That was all it took. The initiates didn't even have to **do** anything. Aethyta had had to lead a couple of green recruits through the wastelands of Tuchanka to get her rank – these soft ladies of the cloth simply had to stand there and look pretty._

_Her scowl deepened._

_Finally, they were released for the reception. Aethyta put herself right at the door, her current apprentice on the other side. She got there just in time to see Benezia walk through it, doing her best to ignore the huntress standing watch at the door. Aethyta glared, watching the other asari out of the corner of her eye as she practically glided through the room. Benezia talked with almost everyone in the room, including other huntresses; everyone but Aethyta, who she continued to act as though she had not seen._

_"Aethyta, do you know that priestess?"_

_Aethyta's eyes slid over to her apprentice. "What priestess?"_

_A knowing smirk. "The woman who you keep following with your eyes," she clarified._

_"How about you shut it and watch for security risks instead of watching me?"_

_Her apprentice just chuckled, returning her eyes to the crowd. Damn these maidens and their insatiable curiosity. Aethyta sighed. Sometimes she missed the freedom of being a maiden._

_"Hey," she said after a minute. "Why don't you go get something to eat? Guarding these things is kind of a joke, anyway. Just, you know, don't fuck anyone. Not until later, anyway." Her apprentice snorted, shaking her head as she headed off into the crowd._

_Aethyta relaxed, having lost track of Benezia in the crowd. Maybe it was better this way. The entire last three hours, she couldn't get the echo of the woman's touch out of her head. The ghost of Benezia's mind had stayed with Aethyta, her history plaguing the matron when she slept. Part of the reason she had decided to be celibate – until she met someone she'd like to settle down with, at least – was because she got tired of her one-night-stands knowing that history, that she had fallen so deeply in love with another asari, and in only one night. Their pitying expressions and damnable questions weren't worth the orgasm. Not anymore._

_After some time had passed, and just as she was well and truly beginning to relax, she spotted Benezia again. The priestess was heading right for her, in fact. She narrowed her eyes, watching the priestess approach the door, wondering if and when she'd make eye contact. Ten feet away, she finally did, her eyes flicking up to Aethyta's for the barest of moments._

_She flinched._

_Then she glided away, seeming as if she had meant to, but Aethyta knew it was because she was avoiding the huntress. She smirked. Oh, this was going to be a fun game. Benezia would **never** be able to leave._

* * *

Aethyta was startled out of her reverie by a knocking on the door. "Yeah?"

"Your appointment is here, Aethyta."

She scowled. "Give me a minute. Have them wait in the chair outside the door."

"Sure thing."

She studied the picture in her hands once more. She had finally cornered Benezia after the priestess had avoided her all day. It had taken some doing, but she'd gotten her to talk. It had been… heated, to say the least, Aethyta putting on her best angry growl while the priestess had spoken in the same haughty tone she'd used that awful morning after their first encounter.

In the end, Benezia had broken down, admitting that she hadn't forgotten the rough-voiced matron for all those years. She'd said Aethyta had wormed her way into her mind, and hadn't truly left. All it took was one kiss from Aethyta after that, and their clothes were on the floor of Benezia's quarters inside the temple, their minds joined almost immediately. That time they had confessed their love for the other, out loud, Aethyta stripping away Benezia's control, her austere demeanor, with the presence of her mind and the power of her body.

But they had still had to part ways. Aethyta had snapped this holo before falling asleep herself, after their conversation that they couldn't be together, it was too much of a scandal. Being in love did not negate Benezia's chosen path within the temple, and a priestess simply could not marry another asari. They had left it at that, unwilling to talk about any options of carrying on in secret, and Aethyta had been gone before the priestess woke up, turning in a transfer request to a colony far away from Thessia.

Aethyta sighed, putting the framed picture back on her desk. She got up, went to the door, and began the interview with her potential new bartender. Why was she remembering all these depressing moments today?

* * *

_A/N: Alrighty, folks. I hope you enjoyed this one. These chapters are written in pairs, so I think I'm going to post them in pairs. Plus this one is just __**so**__ short that I'm taking pity on you. It might mean a bit more of a wait in between. But you can deal with that, right? If it means you get a full section of their lives in one go? Good. Hope you enjoy this, and the next one. :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Benezia sat in the private transport, her newest commando recruit sitting across from her. Shiala was young, a maiden of perhaps 150 years – Benezia didn't know, nor did she ask. The woman's age wasn't important to the older matron, only her skill and her loyalty. Benezia had left the priesthood when she married Aethyta, but she still served an important role within the temple, acting as a liaison between the temple and the Council of Matriarchs, and as such, needed escort, to protect her – especially during her pregnancy. She was currently on her way to the office she kept at the temple, where she would see to some things before heading to her office at the capital building.

"Matriarch… I thought it wise to tell you that I have overheard some… troubling talk." Shiala kept her eyes down as she spoke.

Benezia looked away from the window to the young maiden. "Oh?"

The huntress nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Among the other commandos."

"I see." Benezia furrowed her brows. "Were these assigned to priestesses, or the others who serve _me_?"

"The others, Matriarch. They say-"

Benezia held up a hand to halt her, a smile on her face, her brows smooth. "Please, Shiala. Call me Benezia. I am not even technically a matriarch yet, anyway, even if I serve the Council. I do not care what the others might have to say of me, as long as it is not the women who spend their time in my care. Rumors always abound; if I cared to try to stop them, to correct them, I would die trying." She put her hand down and settled into her seat. "Others can say what they will about me, as long as no one who works for me does so within my space."

"Yes, ma- Benezia."

She studied the commando. Her skin had a lot of purple to it, and the facial markings upon her face were centered around her eyes, with just a hint of a darker purple mark bisecting her bottom lip. The scales upon her face were almost invisible, very different from most asari. The most remarkable thing about her, however, was her eyes – they were a startling bright green. They contrasted starkly with Aethyta's, which were such a dark blue they were almost black. She smiled, thinking of her bondmate.

"It was regarding Aethyta, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The rumors," Benezia clarified. "They were regarding my choice of bondmate, yes?" A nod. She paused, considering her words. "How do _you_ feel about that, Shiala? About my pregnancy?"

"I wouldn't dream to tell you how to live your life, ma'am."

"That's not what I asked, Shiala. You can be honest, speak your mind – you see some of my most intimate moments, it's only fair I know about the people who serve me."

Shiala blinked, shifted her eyes. "I… do not know what to think, ma'am."

"Benezia," she corrected gently.

"B- Benezia. I admit that I would have thought it wrong when I first came to you, but it has been several months, and I have had a chance to witness the obvious love you and your bondmate share. I confess I cannot think it wrong any longer – surely a child made from such strong, wise people would be a wonderful addition to our race?"

Benezia smiled. "I'm glad we could change your mind, Shiala."

She was quiet a moment before getting the matriarch's attention once more. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you two find each other?"

Benezia cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Shiala's brow furrowed. "Well… how long have you known each other?"

Her eyes went unfocused as she thought back, trying to count the years. "A… very long time." She refocused, smiling. "We met as maidens, when I was a young initiate in the temple."

"Have you been bonded that whole time?"

Benezia held back a small frown. "No. No, I took some… persuasion. Aethyta broke down my resolve… slowly. Over time." They had been fun encounters, but Benezia now felt guilty for her behavior when they first met. The following encounters were much more… egalitarian. They were pulled apart by duty, or by not knowing how to be together in their worlds. "We crossed wrists nearly a hundred years ago now."

Shiala considered her for a moment. "That is… rather unique. Most asari who are able to be bonded to one person for so long are bonded to krogan."

Benezia chuckled. "Well, Aethyta's father was krogan, and you've met her – she definitely inherited a krogan's temper. So perhaps it is not so unique…"

* * *

_She would not move from the door. At this point Benezia really had no one left to speak with, and she wanted to slip out and introduce herself to the office space she would now have to herself. But the huntress had placed herself at the door and seemed perfectly content to stay there until the festivities were over._

_"This is ridiculous," she said aloud, though very quietly, to herself. "I am a grown matron – a priestess of the temple of Athame! I can walk past an old lover with my dignity intact." So she did. She walked right past Aethyta with her head held high._

_She was completely unprepared, however, for the huntress's proximity. She passed close enough to touch the other asari without any effort, and as she passed, the warrior's scent momentarily overtook her. Images flashed in her mind of the huntress's naked body, her dark blue flesh, her perky breasts, the look of her sex under low light. She could almost feel the woman's strong arms around her, her warm, callused hands whipping her body into a lustful frenzy. She saw flashes of their Joinings, of the unique colors and gradients of warmth she had come to associate with Aethyta's mind in just that one night._

_It was just a flash, though, and after a moment she continued on, refusing to acknowledge the other woman's presence, even as she was silently overwhelmed by it._

_She made it to her new office without further incident. Letting herself in, she immediately sunk into the chair, looking at the unadorned stone desk without really seeing it. All she saw was a small yet powerful naked asari who had completely stripped her bare, leaving her begging for her release, both physical and emotional. That woman had completely broken her down, tearing through the carefully crafted veneer of her station – shattering it, really – and finding the scared child underneath, the one who was afraid of upsetting her distant mother, her austere turian father; the scared person underneath who was afraid of abandonment, and so pushed others away before they had the chance to do so to her. Aethyta had found her and held her, soothing her hurts, reaffirming her hopes and dreams, and in the process making her feel such a real, visceral pleasure that she had never before nor since felt with another lover._

_A sound near the door broke her of her reverie. Looking up, she saw the source of her anxiety, of so many bittersweet dreams that had left her awake and aroused, panting and wanting for her touch._

_Aethyta._

_"Avoiding me isn't really the hallmark of a priestess of Athame." Her voice was just as gruff, possibly even more so. She stood just as small as she had, and yet somehow commanded attention, filling up the doorway with her very **being**. She wore her leathers with the practiced ease of someone who had worn them, fought in them, lived, eaten, and fucked in them for years, her movements liquid and comfortable. Benezia was uncomfortable with what had awakened within at the mere sight of the woman, reinforced by the assault upon her senses at the woman's proximity. Even now, the familiar scent, mixed with the scent of her leathers and the vague smell of sweat, of flesh, bodies, was encroaching upon the space, seeping into her office and surrounding her, awakening her need._

_She stood, hoping to command her own attention, use her own presence to fight back against the onslaught on her senses. She also hoped to fight back against her own treacherous body, which wanted nothing more than for the huntress to march in and take her right here upon the desk. It wasn't working._

_"What do you mean, 'avoiding you'?"_

_Aethyta crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk pulling at her lips. "C'mon, don't dick me around, Benezia. You know perfectly well that you haven't wanted to walk by me all night."_

_She sighed. "What makes you think anything about today has been about you at all, Aethyta?" No use pretending like she didn't remember the woman – they both knew she did._

_Aethyta scowled, her unadorned face pulling taut as her brows furrowed over her eyes. "Don't give me that shit, sweetheart. You haven't been able to come near me tonight. I saw you flinch when you noticed me at the start of the ceremony. Then you looked everywhere **but** me while you were being promoted. Then you couldn't come anywhere near that doorway during the party. When you finally did, you stopped dead for a second right next to me. I saw your eyes dilate." She stepped into the room. "You might have tossed me out of your house like a Goddess-damn pyjak, but I got in your head, honey. I know what you want, what you wish you could have. Don't try to pretend any different."_

_Benezia blinked. She didn't know what to say. Falling back on what she knew, she schooled her face and drew herself up to her full height, which was an inch or two above Aethyta's. "Do not use such foul language in this House of Athame. We had a drunken tumble, which I immediately regretted, and you have just reinforced the reasons why I regret it."_

_"Oh? And what are those, Princess?"_

_She raised a single brow. "You are a foul-mouthed huntress from a House so unknown you don't even have an asari House name, daughter of a commando who bonded with a krogan. You have a temper to match those foul creatures, and you spent your early days stripping in order to make money. One of my station should never have even crossed paths with you, but somehow you wormed your way into attending that celebration in my home. You did not belong there, and you did not belong in my bed." She furrowed her brows. "I deserve far better than you."_

_She knew that what she said would sting. What she did not know was that Aethyta would get mad in her hurt. Aethyta was clearly angry, however, her face a carefully calm mask and yet showing her full **rage** as she stalked into the room._

_Benezia was even more unprepared for Aethyta's biting slap across her cheek. She lifted a hand to the spot immediately, looking into the huntress's eyes as she barely held back tears of indignation._

_"I may not be of a high and mighty House like **you**, T'Soni, but I at least know a good person when I see one. And try as you might to prove me wrong, I know you're a good person under all that House T'Soni bullshit. But you cling to it like a lifeline out in space. It's complete shit, Benezia. You're scared shitless, and you don't know how else to act so you fall back on **this** shit." She towered over the priestess, even in her diminutive height, Benezia staring open-mouthed, her hand still to her cheek. The huntress opened her mouth again, her face now in a scowl instead of her previous mask of rage. "Let me in again, and I can show you the real **you**, the one who didn't give a shit that I was of a lower House, the one who is the true Priestess who cherishes **life** in all its fucked-up glory."_

_With the last words, Benezia could feel Aethyta's presence outside her mind, tickling the edges, restraining herself from pushing her way in. The priestess yearned for it, had wanted the other asari inside of her in whatever way she could get for **years**, and could not help but let her in now, even as she vocally professed her disdain for the shorter woman. She was overwhelmed by warmth, by swirling Earthen colors that swarmed in and around her, underneath her, immediately holding her aloft, pulling her in until she was completely surrounded. She was in a warm mental embrace, floating softly in the essence of the powerful huntress before her. Her physical world melted away, replaced by images pulled to the forefront by the person she was melded with._

_She saw herself as a child, tutored by a string of lower-class asari matrons, playing with these women's children, confused when her mother wouldn't allow them in certain rooms or to play with Benezia's toys, having it explained that she was better than these girls and embodying that superiority in order to please the distant matron who was on the cusp of her matriarch years. Her father, rarely around because of his active duty in the turian military, would encourage whatever her mother wanted, and would spend little time with her, favoring her mother's company. When he did spend time with her, he would become frustrated or angry with her inability to act like a turian child of a similar age, even though he knew very well that asari children matured more slowly._

_Another memory surfaced, of her first Joining, with a turian male. He had used her body in the way males did, allowing her to Join with him to seek her own pleasure, but not seeking to give her any pleasure on his own. The next image was of a similar encounter with a Batarian female, though she was softer, more to Benezia's taste, and encounters after that tended to be female. She preferred their warmth, their understanding, their more familiar bodies. She preferred their minds, their hands, their memories and their general natural predisposition toward sharing and comforting. She never let them see her hurt from her life, though, always the one in control of the Joining, always the one directing the contact with her mind._

_Then Aethyta had come. She saw it now, Aethyta sharing their encounter in vivid detail, except this time, she also experienced it how the other asari had experienced it. She felt the other asari's arousal, saw herself through Aethyta's eyes. She experienced the huntress's need to strip her bare, to break down the walls that she had built in self-preservation since her childhood. She experienced the shadow of Aethyta's raw presence, her immense power, and how the huntress used it to break Benezia down and build her back up again, soothing her hurts and giving her immense pleasure. She then saw the hurt she had caused the next morning, how she had demeaned the woman, completely devaluing the connection they had shared._

_She felt like a monster._

_Aethyta withdrew slowly, gently, sliding back out of her mind in a way that left Benezia breathless but whole. When her senses returned to her, she found herself held in the huntress's arms, tears streaming down her face and leaking upon the other asari's leathers. Realizing her situation, she tried to pull back, but Aethyta wouldn't let her._

_"Oh, no you don't," she growled, wrapping her arms more tightly around the priestess. "I'm not letting you do that again. I'm woman enough to admit I love you, and I know you love me, and I'm not letting you retreat into yourself and throw up your damned walls again. Not yet. Not until you admit it."_

_Benezia looked up into those eyes, so deep blue they might be black, and shuddered at the certainty there. The only thing she was certain of at the moment was that she had never been **that** certain of herself in her life. Her life had been full of doubt, and covering it up by acting like she had with Aethyta all those years ago._

_She opened her mouth. "I…"_

_She didn't get any further, as Aethyta growled for her to shut up at that moment, closing the distance between them and claiming her lips in a fierce kiss that rocked the very ground upon which Benezia stood._

* * *

Benezia smiled as she recalled just what had happened after that kiss she had waited so long for, all while trying to deny her absolute _need_. Aethyta had lain her down on her desk, literally stripped her bare, and made slow, deliberate love to her, easing her doubts as they cropped up with her certainty, her commanding presence, her very _being_. By the end of it, they lay upon the floor of her office, spent and satiated, grinning like fools into each other's skin as they basked in their love and post-coital pheromones.

Unfortunately, they could not stay. Admitting their love for each other did not change their life circumstances. Aethyta had furrowed her eyebrows in frustration at that, but had accompanied Benezia back to her quarters, making love to her once more before they had passed out. The huntress had been gone in the morning, a quick note scrawled out in paper on her side table, saying that she didn't want to interfere in Benezia's chosen path, but she couldn't bear to be so near when they couldn't have each other, not really.

Benezia had sobbed, feeling a deep ache in her soul at the woman's absence after she had just found her again. She had looked into her location, but by then Aethyta had transferred herself to a temple as far away from Thessia as one could get and still be in Asari space. Benezia had taken the hint and left her alone. She was right – they couldn't be together if Benezia still wanted the life of a priestess. It was more than taboo – she would be stripped of her priesthood. And she had so recently been inducted into those ranks. It was what she had worked toward for more than a century.

She had moved on as best she could, taking a salarian bondmate but not being able to stomach having asari children with the woman. She had helped raise the children her bondmate had produced through a mating contract, though. She had loved that woman in her own right, appreciating her mind, and her care, and her understanding that there was someone Benezia had fallen for long ago, whom she could not be with. She had loved those children dearly, helping them grow, attending their events and graduations, delighting when they had their own children. Those children were gone now, as was the woman, and she had mourned them when they passed. She had kept in contact with her great-grand children, but after that generation had allowed the relationship to merely be a recording on a page in the family's genealogy. If someone chose to seek her out, she wouldn't push them away, but they didn't feel like family any longer.

She hadn't taken another bondmate. Unlike most of her people, it was too much pain that she simply couldn't move past. Besides, the most passionate love of her life was out there, alive, and she was instead dickering around with others, just to watch them die, all the while knowing her deepest love was alive, living her own life, a life free of Benezia. She had learned to push it away. It was too painful.

She was torn from her reverie by Shiala's voice. "Benezia? Are you alright?"

She blinked, her eyes focusing on Shiala's face. She smiled. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just… I got lost in my memories for a moment."


	5. Chapter 5 temp

_Hi, all. So this isn't actually a new chapter. More of a place-holder while I figure shit out. My mother died two weeks ago today, and it has been incredibly difficult. It was sudden and unexpected, and I miss her so much. I've spent the last two weeks with my family, namely my brothers and stepdad (and wife, who is also devastated), sorting things out and planning and attending the funeral and also just spending time with my brothers, the youngest of which is only 15. Readjusting to life in NYC is its own brand of difficult, especially because I'm probably going to be withdrawing from my courses for the semester - I just can't concentrate well enough to do well in all my classes._

_This fic in particular is going on hiatus for the time being. I have every intention of finishing it, and have written a lot on it, even. But I think that writing about Benezia being pregnant with Liara and Aethyta and Benezia splitting is just a little too close to home for me. I had a very special relationship with my mother - not that other people don't - and I'm actively avoiding anything that reminds me of mother-daughter stuff for a little bit. I may be wrong and start writing on this story right away, but I'm at least giving myself an out while updating y'all as to what's going on. If you're following Forbidden Magic, then have no fears - and update on that one is coming very soon._

_Thank you all. I appreciate the understanding._

_~Drummerchick7_


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